The Cancer Journey Podcast

The Cancer Journey Institute
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🌟 Step into the nurturing embrace of "The Cancer Journey Podcast," brought to you by the compassionate hearts at the Cancer Journey Institute. 🌈 Embark on a transformative expedition where each episode unfolds like a chapter designed to illuminate the path of patients, survivors, and caregivers navigating the intricate landscape of cancer. At the Cancer Journey Institute, we believe in fostering a mindset of resilience and growth, and our podcast is a beacon of light that guides you through the journey, reframing it as a meaningful expedition rather than a daunting battle.

  1. 2d ago

    Episode 114: The Someday Trap

    Play feels like the last thing on the list when you're on a cancer journey. But what if waiting until everything is handled before you let yourself feel good is the very thing making the journey harder? In Episode 114, Shariann and Alicia have a deeply honest conversation about what gets in the way of play, joy, and lightness on a cancer journey, and what it actually looks like to start making space for those things now rather than later. This episode starts in a real, unfiltered place and moves somewhere genuinely tender. It's one of those conversations that models exactly what it's talking about. Topics covered in this episode: Why play feels inaccessible when you're deep in a cancer journey The have-tos versus the get-tos: how a cancer journey can feel like pure obligation Freedom as the thing underneath the craving for play The someday trap and why deferring joy doesn't work Should versus want: the difference in how they feel in your body The steps to getting there are the qualities of being there How negative ego gets loudest when you most need lightness Small, concrete ways to infuse play into everyday moments Why you need someone to say your hard things to without it affecting your relationships Cancer sucks: giving yourself full permission to say so #CancerJourney #CancerJourneyPodcast #CancerSupport Chapters: 0:00 Welcome and PESH check-in 1:30 Play on a cancer journey: why it feels so out of reach 4:30 Freedom as the real craving underneath it all 8:00 The someday trap: deferring joy until everything is handled 11:30 Letting someone else do your laundry: vulnerability and receiving help 14:30 Getting familiar with what frustration feels like in your body 18:00 Should versus want: a really important distinction 22:00 The steps to getting there are the qualities of being there 25:30 Small ways to infuse play into the hard moments 28:30 Closing takeaway and PESH check-out

    23 min

  2. May 29

    Episode 113: How We Die with CJC Barbara Haedtke

    How We Die with CJC Barbara Haedtke | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 113How do we die? It's a question most of us spend our lives avoiding — and one that becomes impossible to ignore when you're on a cancer journey, especially a terminal one.In Episode 113, Shariann and Alicia are joined by Barbara, a certified Cancer Journey Coach who is also living with a terminal cancer diagnosis. She brings a rare combination of professional experience and deeply personal perspective to a conversation about mortality, legacy, grief, gratitude, and what it means to truly engage with the life you have left.This is one of the most honest and tender conversations the podcast has had. It doesn't offer easy answers. It offers something better — the experience of watching someone engage with the hardest material with curiosity, grace, and an open heart.Topics covered in this episode:• What it actually feels like to face a terminal diagnosis• The difference between cognitive acceptance and emotional engagement• Grief as an ongoing, daily process — not a destination• Why the things people say to the dying often have more to do with their own fear• The practical side of facing death — putting affairs in order, shifting financial plans• Gratitude and grief living side by side in the same moment• Legacy — what you want to leave, how you want to be remembered• "Engage with the material" — what that phrase really means• The last year of Debbie Ford's sister's life — and what she said about it• What proximity to death reveals about how we've been living• How a Cancer Journey Coach creates space for this kind of engagementGuest: Barbara, Certified Cancer Journey Coach#CancerJourney #EndOfLife #CancerJourneyPodcastChapters: 0:00 Welcome and PESH check-in 2:00 Introducing the topic — how we die 4:30 Barbara's experience facing a terminal diagnosis 8:00 The drive home from the doctor — grief, beauty, and gratitude 12:00 What people say to the dying (and what they really mean) 16:00 Legacy, curiosity, and engaging with the material 20:00 Money, mortality, and what you'd do if the runway shifted 24:30 The Wise Old Crone — finding yourself through the Cancer Journey Institute 28:00 What "engage with the material" really means 32:00 Closing takeaways and PESH check-out

    30 min

  3. May 22

    Episode 112: Where Does Joy Even Fit?

    Where Does Joy Even Fit? | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 112 How do you possibly find joy when you're on a cancer journey? When treatment is exhausting, energy is limited, and just getting through the day takes everything you have — where does joy even fit? In Episode 112, Shariann and Alicia get practical and personal about what it actually looks like to find moments of nourishment and delight on a cancer journey. This isn't about toxic positivity or forcing a good attitude. It's about giving yourself real permission to feel good, in whatever small ways are actually accessible to you right now. Topics covered in this episode: Why joy feels out of reach on a cancer journey — and why it doesn't have toThe difference between nourishment and joy, and why both matterWhy familiar activities work better than trying to learn something newWhat Shariann leaned on during treatment when TV felt like too muchWhy movies and TV aren't always the easy escape we think they areThe joy of small things — and why slowing down makes them visibleFur babies, kids' laughter, nature, and the unexpected allies on a cancer journeyGetting dressed for yourself, not for anyone elseJournaling as a joy practice — and how to actually startThe pink wig story — and what permission really looks likeMarie Kondo, monstera leaf pasta spoons, and sparking joy in the everyday#CancerJourney #CancerJourneyPodcast #CancerSupport Chapters: 0:00 Welcome and PESH check-in1:45 How do we find joy — and what does nourishment look like on a cancer journey?4:30 Why TV isn't always the easy escape — and what Shariann did instead8:00 Familiar activities, crafts, music, and books11:30 The unexpected allies — fur babies, kids, nature, comedy15:00 The small joys hiding in plain sight18:30 Getting dressed for yourself — and the woman in the treatment room22:00 Journaling as a joy practice25:00 Permission — and the pink wig story 28:30 Closing takeaways and PESH check-out

    26 min

  4. May 15

    Episode 111: What the System Wasn't Designed to Hold

    What the System Wasn't Designed to Hold | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 111 The cancer care system is extraordinarily skilled at treating the physical body. But a cancer journey is so much more than what shows up on a scan — and for most people moving through it, the emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions of the experience are largely unaddressed. This is a conversation about the limits of a fix-it culture, the invisible weight that doctors and nurses carry, and why a Cancer Journey Coach might be the most important addition to a care team that no one is talking about yet. Topics covered in this episode: - Why the medical system is built for efficiency — and what gets lost in that model - The emotional weight that doctors and nurses carry and rarely have space to process - Why you can cognitively trust your care team and still not feel emotionally safe - What happens when emotions are suppressed throughout a cancer journey - How suppressed emotions affect decision-making and quality of life - Toxic positivity and why forcing it doesn't actually help - The role of a Cancer Journey Coach as the humanity piece of the care team - Why bringing emotion back into care doesn't slow things down — it makes everything work better - What Shariann experienced at the end of her own treatment and what it illuminated #CancerJourney #CancerCare #CancerJourneyPodcast Chapters:  0:00 Welcome and PESH check-in 1:45 Why the medical system struggles to hold the emotional experience 4:30 The culture of fixing — and what it misses 7:00 The emotional weight doctors and nurses carry 10:00 Trusting your care team cognitively vs. feeling it emotionally 13:00 What happens when emotions get suppressed throughout treatment 16:00 Toxic positivity and why it doesn't work 18:30 Decision-making and the role of emotions in knowing what matters 21:00 The Cancer Journey Coach as the humanity piece of the care team 24:00 Closing takeaways and PESH check-out

    28 min

  5. May 8

    Episode 110: The Conversation Nobody's Having About Chemo Brain

    The Conversation Nobody's Having About Chemo Brain | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 110 Brain fog, chemo brain, and the days when you just can't access yourself the way you normally can — this is one of the most common and least talked about experiences on a cancer journey. In Episode 110, Shariann and Alicia get candid about what it actually feels like to not feel brilliant, and what that has to do with how we're taught to push through instead of slow down. The conversation moves from the personal experience of cognitive fog to the deeper question of what we actually need on days like that — and why a safe space to say what's really there matters more than any supplement or strategy. Topics covered in this episode:• What brain fog and chemo brain actually feel like from the inside• Why the dip in cognitive sharpness triggers fear and self-blame• The difference between a bad day and a less-resourced day• What Shariann discovered about coaching from the heart during her own cancer treatment• Why slowing down is not the opposite of productivity — especially on a cancer journey• What a coaching session offers that even the best friendship can't replicate• The real-time shift that happened during this episode• Why you don't have to feel brilliant to have value• "There's magic in the telling — but it matters where you tell it"#CancerJourney #ChemoBrain #CancerJourneyPodcast Chapters: 0:00 Welcome and PESH check-in 2:10 What it feels like to not feel brilliant 5:30 Chemo brain, aging, and the fear that something is wrong 8:45 Good days, less-resourced days, and the body's need for rest 12:00 Coaching from the heart — Shariann's experience during treatment 16:30 What slowing down actually makes possible 20:00 What coaching offers that friendship can't 25:00 Witnessing the shift in real time 29:30 Closing takeaways and PESH check-out

    29 min

  6. May 1

    Episode 109: Feeling Stuck on Your Cancer Journey? You're Not Alone

    Feeling Stuck on Your Cancer Journey? You're Not Alone | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 109 Feeling stuck is one of the most universal experiences on a cancer journey — and one of the least talked about. In this episode, Shariann and Alicia explore what stuckness really is, why it's so hard to move through, and what it actually looks like to begin letting go. The conversation covers the difference between being in the hole and knowing you're there, why familiar discomfort can feel safer than the unknown, and why mourning what you're leaving behind is a necessary — not optional — part of moving forward.This is a candid, grounded conversation about change, trust, and the quiet courage it takes to walk down a different street.Topics covered in this episode: • What feeling stuck actually feels like on a cancer journey • Life in Five Chapters — the pathway from stuck to unstuck • Why the hole can feel like home (and why that makes sense) • Letting go without dismissing what mattered • Mourning the losses that come with a cancer journey • Why cancer is a journey, not a battle — and what that shift actually does • The role of trust when you can't control what's happening • Shariann's baby maple tree and what nature shows us about change • How perfectionism and moving fast can become their own kind of stuckness • Why getting unstuck is always a choice — and always a process #CancerJourney #FeelingStuck #CancerJourneyPodcastChapters:0:00 Welcome and PESH check-in1:44 What feeling stuck feels like — and why it's so relevant on a cancer journey4:10 Life in Five Chapters7:30 Why the hole feels comfortable — and how we make a home there10:15 What it really means to let something go13:45 Mourning the losses along the cancer journey17:20 Shariann's baby maple tree19:30 Perfectionism, moving fast, and personal stuckness22:10 Cancer as a journey, not a battle26:00 Trust as the antidote to stuckness28:30 Closing takeaways and PESH check-out

    24 min

  7. Apr 24

    Episode 108: When a Loved One Passes from Cancer (with Christine Anastos)

    When a Loved One Passes from Cancer | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 108 When a loved one passes from cancer, the journey doesn't end — it just changes. In this episode, Christine Anastos of Connect and Thrive (CAT) shares what it really means to be a cancer caregiver, the weight of showing up through the impossible, and what it's like to navigate your own cancer diagnosis while still caring for someone you love. Christine's mother went through multiple rounds of treatment including two stem cell transplants, dialysis for 12 years, and nearly two decades of navigating the healthcare system — with Christine by her side, watching over every detail. In 2016, Christine was diagnosed with breast cancer herself and found herself moving between her own treatment and her mother's bedside. This conversation covers what caregivers carry that no one names, how to find your footing when there's no roadmap, and how to carry a loved one's memory forward with love after they're gone. Topics covered in this episode: • Why the caregiver's cancer journey is just as real as the patient's • What it felt like when Christine's mother could no longer be her source of strength• How Christine's engineering mindset became one of her greatest tools in the hospital • The role of faith when there's nothing else to hold onto • What it means to truly care for yourself as a caregiver • Christine's own breast cancer diagnosis and treatment at Dana-Farber • Her mother's 12 years on dialysis and the choice she made to let go • Carrying someone's memory forward by speaking their name and their story • What Christine would — and wouldn't — do differently Guest: Christine Anastos, Connect and Thrive (CAT) Chapters:  0:00 Welcome and PESH check-in 1:38 The caregiver's cancer journey 3:34 Christine's story: her mother's diagnosis and stem cell transplants 5:13 When her mother couldn't be the source of strength 6:03 How faith carried her through 8:47 Christine's own breast cancer diagnosis in 2016 12:58 The value she found in being present as a caregiver 17:28 Carrying her mother's memory forward 18:06 What she learned through Cancer Journey Institute 22:54 Letting go of anticipatory anxiety 23:05 Her mother's 12 years on dialysis and choosing to let go 25:42 No regrets — making the best of the worst 28:03 Closing reflections and PESH check-out 30:00 Christine's program: Connect and Thrive 35:00 Goodbyes #CancerJourney #CancerCaregiver #CancerJourneyPodcast

    37 min

  8. Apr 17

    Episode 107: How Are You, Really?

    How Are You, Really | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 107What does trust actually mean when you're on a cancer journey - and why do so many people feel unseen even when they're surrounded by people trying to help them?In Episode 107 of the Cancer Journey Podcast, Shariann and Alicia explore two of the most powerful tools in Cancer Journey Coaching: trust and powerful listening. They dig into what it really takes to build trust with someone going through one of the hardest experiences of their life, why feeling heard is directly connected to healing, and what shifts when someone finally asks - not "how are you?" but "how are you, really?"This episode is for anyone on a cancer journey, supporting someone who is, or working in a space where the emotional side of cancer often goes unaddressed.Chapters: 0:00 — Welcome and PESH check-in 2:45 — What is trust? Defining it on a cancer journey 6:30 — The trust fall — and what it feels like to truly let go 11:15 — Entering the unknown after a diagnosis 15:40 — Why feeling heard is inseparable from healing 20:10 — What happens when patients don't feel seen by their care team 25:30 — How powerful listening builds trust in a clinical setting 30:45 — The case for a Cancer Journey Coach on the care team 36:00 — "How are you, really?" — one question that changes everything 40:20 — Closing PESH and takeawaysKeywords: cancer journey, trust and cancer, powerful listening, cancer coaching, cancer care team, cancer patient support, emotional side of cancer, cancer journey podcast, cancer journey coach, cancer support, healing and trust, cancer mental health#CancerJourney #CancerJourneyPodcast #CancerSupport

    26 min
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About

🌟 Step into the nurturing embrace of "The Cancer Journey Podcast," brought to you by the compassionate hearts at the Cancer Journey Institute. 🌈 Embark on a transformative expedition where each episode unfolds like a chapter designed to illuminate the path of patients, survivors, and caregivers navigating the intricate landscape of cancer. At the Cancer Journey Institute, we believe in fostering a mindset of resilience and growth, and our podcast is a beacon of light that guides you through the journey, reframing it as a meaningful expedition rather than a daunting battle.

Information

  • Creator
    The Cancer Journey Institute
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    114
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Cancer Journey Institute
  • Show Website
    The Cancer Journey Podcast